Chương 24: Dai Mubai, why the hell didn't you say so earlier!

Ning Rongrong stood aside, watching this scene with curiosity.

She sized up Su Chen—black hair, black eyes, handsome face, calm demeanor, looking no different from an ordinary teenager.

"What's so special about him?" Ning Rongrong wondered to herself.

"His soul power is too high? How high could it be?"

Su Chen walked up to the crystal ball.

He raised his right hand, placed his palm on the crystal ball, and released his soul power.

The crystal ball first lit up, its white light dazzling.

Then the colors changed rapidly: white, yellow, purple, black...

The brightness increased, and the entire sphere began to tremble violently, emitting a buzzing sound.

Lu Qibin's expression changed drastically: "This... this is..."

"Snap!"

The first crack appeared on the surface of the crystal ball.

"Snap! Snap!"

The cracks spread like a spider web, becoming more and more numerous.

"Bang!"

The crystal ball shattered, scattering shards everywhere!

A gust of air spread out from the tabletop, making Lu Qibin's beard flutter.

Lu Qibin stood frozen in place, staring dumbfounded at the shards scattered across the table, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Ning Rongrong was also stunned, her cherry-like mouth opened into an "O" shape, and her eyes widened.

There was a three-second silence in the venue.

Lu Qibin finally found his voice and screamed, "This... how is this possible?! The crystal ball exploded?! What level is he?!"

Dai Mubai sighed, stepped forward, and patted Lu Qibin on the shoulder: "Teacher Lu, I told you the crystal ball can't take it, it can't take it. He's a level 59 Soul King, his soul power level is too high, the crystal ball can't handle it."

"Level 5... 59? A Soul King?" Lu Qibin staggered, grabbing the table to keep from falling.

"A Soul King at this age?!"

He turned to look at Su Chen, sizing him up, and saw that he was just an ordinary teenager.

But the shards of the crystal ball scattered on the ground don't lie.

"Impossible... impossible..." Lu Qibin muttered to himself, his worldview collapsing.

Ning Rongrong stood aside, her heart filled with overwhelming shock.

She originally thought that she was already a top genius at level twenty-seven, unmatched by anyone of her generation in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

But this boy, who was about the same age as her, was actually a level 59 Soul King? Thirty-two levels higher than her?

Level 32!

She was hailed as a genius from a young age, the jewel of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and the future successor to the sect leader.

Compared to this boy, I'm nothing.

Ning Rongrong bit her lip, a sense of unprecedented frustration welling up inside her, along with intense curiosity and admiration.

She looked at Su Chen's profile, her expression becoming complicated.

Lu Qibin snapped out of his daze, looked at the shards of the crystal ball scattered on the ground, and his face turned green with heartache.

This crystal ball was bought by the academy at a high price; it's the only one in the entire academy!

He turned and glared at Dai Mubai, roaring, "Dai Mubai! Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

Dai Mubai said, looking aggrieved, "I told you! I said his soul power was too high and the crystal ball couldn't handle it! But you didn't listen!"

Lu Qibin jumped up and down: "Couldn't you have just said clearly that he's a Soul King?! You insisted on saying something about the crystal ball being afraid it couldn't withstand it, but who knew it would be this kind of 'can't withstand'?!"

Dai Mubai said helplessly, "How was I supposed to know you wouldn't believe me?"

Lu Qibin took a deep breath, pointed at Dai Mubai's nose, his finger trembling: "You! Go to the finance office! Pay up! The academy only has this one soul power testing crystal ball! Do you know how much it costs?!"

Dai Mubai's face fell: "... Yes."

Su Chen withdrew his martial spirit, watched the scene calmly, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Xiao Wu covered her mouth and chuckled, while Tang San couldn't help but laugh as well.

Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless, but a hint of a smile flashed in her eyes.

Lu Qibin crouched down and carefully picked up the crystal ball shards, still muttering under his breath, "You spendthrift! I put you in charge of guiding the new students, and you've squandered the crystal ball!"

Dai Mubai lowered his head, like a scolded big cat, not daring to utter a single word in rebuttal.

After tidying up the debris, Lu Qibin stood up and looked at Su Chen with a complicated expression.

"You... really...?"

Su Chen nodded.

Lu Qibin was silent for a few seconds, then sighed: "I've lived for over sixty years, and it's all been for nothing."

Su Chen did not respond.

Dai Mubai led the four of them out of the second checkpoint, and Ning Rongrong caught up from behind.

"Wait for me!" She ran to Su Chen's side, looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

"Hello, my name is Ning Rongrong. Your name is Su Chen, right? You're so amazing!"

Su Chen nodded: "Hello."

Ning Rongrong tilted her head, her smile sweet: "Which sect are you from? How did you cultivate? You became a Soul King at twelve! Teach me, please?"

Xiao Wu immediately became alert, took Su Chen's arm, and said to Ning Rongrong, "Brother Chen is from our Notting Academy, we don't teach outsiders."

Ning Rongrong pouted: "Stingy."

Zhu Zhuqing stood on the other side of Su Chen, silent, but her gaze swept over Ning Rongrong with a hint of wariness.

Tang San walked at the back, watching the three girls surrounding Su Chen, and silently sighed in his heart: Brother Chen, are you going to start a harem?

Dai Mubai walked at the front, feeling extremely frustrated.

His fiancée was being intimate with someone else, and he not only had to pay for a crystal ball, but he also got scolded by Lu Qibin.

He glanced back at Su Chen, thinking: This guy is definitely an old monster... otherwise there's no way to explain it.

Then he looked at Zhu Zhuqing, his heart aching: Zhuqing, Zhuqing, how did you end up with such an old monster...

"Dai Mubai, do we have a third challenge?" Tang San asked, catching up a few steps.

Dai Mubai shook his head: "No need. Shrek Academy's rule is: those with a soul power level of 25 or above can skip the second and third stages and directly enter the fourth stage of practical assessment. All four of you have passed level 25, so go directly to the fourth stage."

Xiao Wu asked, "What is the fourth level?"

Dai Mubai: "Practical combat. Fighting against senior students from the academy to test our combat abilities. But with this guy here..."

He glanced at Su Chen.

"The fourth level is just a formality."

Ning Rongrong chimed in from the side, "I'm level 25 or higher too, I'm going straight to the fourth level!"

Dai Mubai glanced at her: "You're level 27, so of course you can go directly. Come along."

The group of six crossed the playground and headed towards the fourth stage.

Sunlight streamed onto the dilapidated Shrek Academy buildings, and a few crows flew over the rooftops.

Su Chen walked in front, Xiao Wu linked arms with him, Zhu Zhuqing followed closely behind, Ning Rongrong chattered on the side asking all sorts of questions, Tang San followed silently behind, and Dai Mubai led the way with a look of utter despair.

The fourth test venue at Shrek Academy is a spacious open-air playground.

In the center of the playground, a short, stocky middle-aged man was lying sprawled out on a deck chair, fast asleep.

When Dai Mubai and his five companions saw this scene from afar, the corner of their mouths twitched involuntarily.

"Is that Teacher Zhao?" Xiao Wu peeked out curiously.

"Is he sleeping?"

"Zhao Wuji, vice principal of Shrek Academy, level 76 Soul Saint." Dai Mubai lowered his voice, "He has a bad temper, so be careful later."

He stepped forward, squatted down next to Zhao Wuji, and nudged his shoulder, calling out, "Teacher Zhao! Teacher Zhao!"

Zhao Wuji didn't react; his snoring continued.

Dai Mubai increased the pressure and pushed twice more: "Teacher Zhao! A new student has arrived for the fourth assessment!"

Zhao Wuji suddenly opened his eyes and slapped Dai Mubai's hand away: "Stop messing around! I was sleeping soundly!"

Dai Mubai rubbed his reddened hand and said helplessly, "Teacher Zhao, a new student has come for the fourth assessment."

Zhao Wuji yawned, sat up, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and looked at the five people behind Dai Mubai.

"All four of them skipped the first three stages, and their soul power is all above level 25."

Dai Mubai pointed to Su Chen, Xiao Wu, Tang San, and Zhu Zhuqing, then pointed to Ning Rongrong, "This is Ning Rongrong, from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, who is also here to register today."

Zhao Wuji's interest was piqued slightly upon hearing the words "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School," and he glanced at Ning Rongrong. But when he heard that they had skipped the first three trials, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Skipped the first three levels? Skipped all five?" He stood up, dusting himself off.

"What level of soul power would allow you to skip the first three levels?"

Dai Mubai hesitated for a moment, then said, "Tang San and Xiao Wu are level 29, Zhu Zhuqing is level 26, and Ning Rongrong is level 27. As for this one—" He looked at Su Chen, "His soul power... is relatively high."

"Relatively tall?" Zhao Wuji frowned.

"How tall?"

"He blew up the soul power testing crystal ball."

Zhao Wuji was stunned, then burst into laughter: "Exploded the crystal ball? You should at least think before you brag, kid! How much soul power could a little kid have?"